The trade deadline is just over two weeks away and the Chicago Cubs remain at the forefront of the rumors discussion. Their primary need is a starting pitcher and as the trade market continues to materialize there may be more options for the Cubs.
Chicago has been linked to a number of names in rumors, including Cole Hamels, Jeff Samardzija, Scott Kazmir, Jon Niese and most recently Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner. The team would prefer to acquire a young established arm with a few years of club control remaining on his contract, which severely narrows their choices on the market.
Ross and Cashner are the only ones that fall under that category, but if the Padres decided to sell it's unlikely they'd roll over in negotiations. They need to replenish their farm system and these two starters give them a good opportunity to do so, but the Cubs do not want to dig deep into their farm system and surrender top talent.
"The Cubs and Astros are among the many teams that could target the Padres' starting pitchers," says FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. "The Cubs, with their surplus of middle infielders, would seem to match up well."
But forget about the Padres' younger guys for a minute. What about James Shields?
Chicago was interested in the veteran right-hander this offseason and ended up being one of the final teams he considered before he eventually signed with San Diego. He's under contract through 2018 and would provide stability atop the Cubs' rotation, which is exactly what they're looking for.
"The Cubs seek a starting pitcher to augment a team that seems to be getting better and better," ESPN Insider Buster Olney said on the Baseball Tonight Podcast.
"One name to watch: if the Padres put James Shields out on the marketplace, he's perfect for the Cubs for where they are right now because he's on a relatively short-term deal, but he can help the rotation now," Olney said during last night's MLB second-half preview on Baseball Tonight.
"After a massive winter makeover, the Padres must decide whether to take on an equally daunting summer reconstruction and trade some star players they just acquired, including pitcher James Shields," he also mentioned on the Podcast.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post went as far as to propose a potential trade between the two teams: swap shortstop Starlin Castro for Shields.
"In this deal, the Padres would get out of the long money ($65 million from 2016-2018) and at least have an interesting player to try to solve their shortstop deficiency. The Cubs would reunite Shields with his one-time Rays manager Joe Maddon, and put him behind Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta. They also would put [Addison] Russell at shortstop, where he belongs."
Trade rumors have engulfed Castro for quite a while now with his defensive woes, offensive struggles and the emergence of Russell. However, he's still only 25 years old and is a three-time All-Star in just six MLB seasons. Despite his down campaign this season, he's still one of the best hitting shortstops in the league when he's on top of his game, and scouts believe a change of scenery will do just that.
But at this point the Cubs may have to bite the bullet because they probably aren't going to get exactly what they want for Castro.
"The best chance for the Cubs to maximize Castro and get a young, controllable starter back has come and gone. For the second time in three seasons, he is having a poor season. There continue to be concerns about his concentration, especially taking bad at-bats into the field," Sherman adds.
At 41-49, the Padres have little use for a $20 million per year pitcher such as Shields, and Sherman's proposed trade wouldn't drastically affect the Cubs' payroll situation either. They would basically inherit $20-plus million since Castro is owed $40-plus million through 2019. Additionally, David Kaplan of CSN Chicago was told earlier this month that the Cubs have the financial resources to make a deal before the deadline.
"With a shot to make the playoffs, look for them to be aggressive and try to add a pitcher -- maybe even a big-name guy -- Cole Hamels or Johnny Cueto -- for the stretch run," writes Tim Kurkjian of ESPN. "Ideally, they could trade shortstop Starlin Castro as part of a package, then move second baseman Addison Russell to shortstop, where he belongs, and hope that second baseman Javier Baez is ready to be promoted from Triple-A."
While the Cubs have endless options, this is a good scenario to consider. They'll also have money in the offseason to spend on another starter, and then the quest for a World Series will officially begin.
